Jim Gavin is moving on to possibly greater things after chairing the Football Review Committee. Last week the Committee published its final report and the proposed retention of the rule enhancements with modifications will be voted on at Special GAA Congress to be held in Croke Park on Oct. 4. The rule modifications that are proposed include: Penalising early movement by players before 1 vs. 1 throw-ins; Changing the kick-out mark delay penalty from a throw-in to a free kick; Clarifying enforcement of Solo and Go distance; Introducing a black card for jersey-pulling in goal-scoring situations; Extending penalty awards for cynical fouls in goal-scoring situations to club competitions; Clarifying conditions for 2-point scores when the ball is touched by the opposition; Empowering neutral sideline officials to report foul play.
The FRC’s final report also proposes to establish a Gaelic Football Expert Advisory Group, supported by the Games Intelligence Unit, to monitor trends and advise the Standing Committee on playing rules in order to better inform future decisions. GAA President, Jarlath Burns paid tribute to the work undertaken by the FRC and Jim Gavin, saying: “It is no exaggeration to state that we have got our game back and at inter-county level both the Leagues and Championship as competitions bore this out. There was a degree of nervousness around how the same rules might apply from the highest level down into our club competitions, but this too has been a huge success, bedding in well and breathing life back into our game amongst the largest cohort that plays it, namely our club players. Needless to say, this juncture has not been reached by accident. An incredible amount of work was undertaken by the Football Review Committee and its chairperson Jim Gavin, work that began the day after Congress 2024 in Newry. The rule changes will now go before Special Congress with a view to having them included in the permanent rules of Gaelic football and our delegates will ultimately debate associated issues before providing their verdict.’’
ATTENDANCES UP
Over one million supporters attended matches during the 2025 inter-county senior football championship. That number represents a 20 percent increase in attendance since the introduction of the new Gaelic football rules. That news was included in the final report of the Football Review Committee which has been published. A total of 858,459 spectators attended matches during the 2024 senior football championship, but this number increased to 1,029,630 this year. National League attendances were also up, from 379,177 in 2024 to 510,697 this year.
TRUMP VISIT
EXPECTED
President Donal Trump is expected to visit Ireland in 2026 when the Amgen Irish Open will be held at the Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, Co. Clare. Confirmation came last week with the DP World Tour’s early release of its schedule for 2026, with Doonbeg, a spectacular links course designed by Australian Greg Norman, one of a number of new venues added the tour’s international itinerary. Next year’s Irish Open will be staged from Sept. 10-13, a week after the Walker Cup, the prestige amateur team match between Britain and Ireland against the United States which will be played further along the Atlantic coast at Lahinch. Doonbeg will be the 22nd host venue for the Irish Open, which was first staged at Portmarnock in 1927.
DUBS GOALIE EXITS
WITHOUT FANFARE
Nothing official, but it looks very much like Dublin goalkeeper Stephen Cluxon has retired as last week he was confirmed as one of new manager Ger Brennan’s backroom team. Cluxton, who will be 44 in December, is a very modest man and was never likely to issue a statement saying he was retiring. Dean Rock and Denis Bastik are also joining Brennan’s backroom team with the Dubs along with fitness expert Niall Moyna. Elsewhere, Donal O’Rourke has been named as part of Peter Queally’s Waterford senior hurling backroom team. Cappaquin club O’Rourke replaces Eoin Kelly in the management team, the 2010 All-Ireland winning Tipp captain having served as a selector for the past three years. In Monaghan, former Antrim manager Andy McEntee joins Gabriel Brannigan’s filling the void left by Andy Moran, who has returned home to manage his native Mayo.
SOCCER FOR GALWAY
PEARSE STADIUM
Galway United will play a few of League of Ireland home games at Pearse Stadium in Salthill next season after Galway GAA gave the request a unanimous endorsement. The proposal, which has been approved by the FAI but requires rubber-stamping by Croke Park, came about as Eamonn Deacy Park is set to undergo drainage works next summer. Following a meeting of Galway GAA’s county committee, chairman Paul Bellew said: ‘"Galway GAA is agreeable to the proposal, but it is a decision for Croke Park. We fully back the proposal, it has our unanimous backing, and I am hopeful that Croke Park will approve it.’’
Playing home games at a GAA ground would not be a first for Galway United, who played their UEFA Cup game against faced Dutch side Groningen in Páirc an Cháthánaigh in Carraroe in 1986 and Odense of Denmark in the European Cup Winners’ Cup at Ballinderreen’s pitch in 1991.The GAA’s Rule 42 prohibited such fixtures taking place at the time, but the games went ahead as both grounds were community-owned.
‘PENNY-PINCHING’ COST
MUNSTER, SAYS MURRAY
Former Munster and Ireland scrum half Conor Murray has criticised Munster for their “penny pinching” and their poor recruitment policy and constant coaching turnover. Murray, who has retired, writes in his newly-published “Cloud Nine: My Life in Rugby” that he has ‘‘to hold my hand up and take my share of responsibility for Munster not achieving what those lads achieved’’ back in the 2000s, but he maintains that the players and coaches he soldiered with could have got more help from the organisation. He wrote: ‘‘I would argue we were let down by recruitment decisions over the years. Munster’s recruitment policy has not been nearly good enough in my time. I don't know if they recruited on the cheap, but I do know to win Champions Cups you need a cohort of world-class players and I don’t think we had enough of them. Ronan O’Gara was a world-class number 10. He had an incredible forward pack in front of him, driven by another world-class player in Paul O’Connell. Did we ever replace them? Of course we didn't. And we were expected to emulate what they achieved without players of that calibre. Financially we were far too conservative. We ended up skimping on the talent that was needed to win the big one. The penny-pinching has been going on for years at Munster, a sort of mindset of doing things on the cheap here and hoping to get away with it. Another basic oversight was that none of us senior players were ever consulted in advance about various potential signings.’’
PROLIFIC TIPP SCORER
MCLOUGHLIN DIES
The death occurred recently of former Tipperary hurler Seán McLoughlin, one of the most prolific goal scorers in the game at senior inter-county level. A native of Rahealty, he played for Thurles Sarsfields with whom he won nine Tipperary county finals. He also won four All-Ireland hurling medals with Tipp, in 1960, 1961, 1964 and 1965. McLoughlin usually lined out in the full forward line and his eye for goal is shown in his total scoring in the champions of 22 goals and six points. He also won two All-Ireland minor titles with Tipperary in 1952 and 1953 when he scored seven goals.
